How to be safe and secure on social networking websites.

Online social networks are websites that allow users to build connections and relationships to other Internet users. Social networks store information remotely, rather than on a user’s personal computer. Social networking can be used to keep in touch with friends, make new contacts and find people with similar interests and ideas.

These online services have grown in popularity since they were first adopted on a large scale in the late 1990s. Pew Research shows that the number of adult Internet users who have a social networking profile more than quadrupled from 2005 to 2008. (See Pew Research's Social Networks Grow: Friending Mom and Dad) As of June 2010, the popular application Facebook listed over 400 million active accounts worldwide.

However, many people besides friends and acquaintances are interested in the information people post on social networks. Identity thieves, scam artists, debt collectors, stalkers, and corporations looking for a market advantage are using social networks to gather information about consumers. Companies that operate social networks are themselves collecting a variety of data about their users, both to personalize the services for the users and to sell to advertisers.

Link: http://www.privacyrights.org/social-networking-privacy#privacy-policy